Filling in the Blanks
by Seor
Summary: For all the moments hinted at, there is always a story to be told. Oneshots detailing the lives of Yoruichi Shihoin and Kisuke Urahara, spanning throughout time and conflict and memory.
1. Chapter 1

Urahara Kisuke woke up to the sounds of a life he no longer had.

He sat up, running a hand through his hair and blinking blearily. For a moment there, he could've sworn he heard an angry voice yelling his name, sounding suspiciously like an ill-tempered short lieutenant. There had been children's laughter too, the sound of blows landing, and the gurgling of water… He shivered. Dreams never brought him much tranquility, instead unnerving him with their tendency to confuse and disorient. He couldn't stand the feeling of not knowing what was real or not, and he hated the way his thoughts trickled through his mind's fingers, leaving him with the knowledge that he had forgotten something his mind could never retrieve.

He shook himself and stood up, brushing the grass from his shihakushō along with the last vestiges of sleep. Sunlight filtered through maple leaves, and soft birdsong heralded the burgeoning blue sky. The smell of broth wafted over from the other side of the tree under which Kisuke had made his bed. He peered around the trunk to see a slightly dishevelled Tessai manoeuvring a pot over a fire pit.

"You're awake, Urahara-dono. Breakfast?"

"Good morning, Tessai-san. Thank you very much." He stretched and yawned. "Is Yoruichi-san gone already?"

Tessai brought out a ladle seemingly from nowhere, and set upon dividing the food. "I believe she said she was going to go explore our surroundings some more, see how Hirako-taichou and the others are doing."

"Ah. Well, while we wait for her return, would you like to go over some plans for our future? Hilltops are nice and all, but I do miss a roof over my head."

*

The Living World was an interesting place, to say the least. He'd been here before on assignments as a junior officer, but that wasn't the same as making his permanent home here. There was an underlying current to everything that reminded Kisuke of Soul Society, and yet the differences were undeniable, jarring even. Both worlds had a sun, for example. They shared the same general roundness and yellowness in colour. Kisuke could've sworn the one back home was warmer, shone more brilliantly. At night, the stars blinked at different paces, traced different paths and told different stories in the heavens. The air too felt thinner here, although he supposed that was due to the lack of spirit particles in the atmosphere. It had been over a week since he and his two companions had made their hidden way into this strange world, and he didn't think he could ever get over how _muted_ everything felt.

The houses in the town they had taken refuge near were of simple wood and thatched rooftops, small and accommodating and dilapidated. Not all that different from those in the outlying regions of Rukongai, really. The hilltop on which the trio had made their temporary refuge overlooked a field interspersed with the wooden structures; dirt paths meandered through long grasses waving lazily in the morning breeze, and in the distance a ribbon of blue glittered like pearls. It _was_ peaceful, Kisuke had to admit. If he closed his eyes for long enough, he could even imagine himself back on the cliff where he and Yoruichi had made their secret hideout all those years ago…

The soft pattering of footsteps woke him from his reverie. He opened his eyes, pushing down the surge of disappointment at the lack of walled courtyards and smooth-stoned towers. _There's no turning back now_, he told himself firmly. _Don't look back. I can't look back_.

"This isn't over, you know." Kisuke glanced over at his friend, in all her furry black-shaped glory. Yoruichi surveyed the landscape beneath them, and in that moment, Kisuke would've given anything to know what she was thinking. She turned to look at him, her bright golden eyes reflecting his own tired face. "This is just a new beginning, and Aizen'll be damned if he thinks this is the last he's seen of us.

"Yoruichi-san," Kisuke said jovially, "I believe that's the closest you've ever gotten to using a cliché." Yoruichi rolled her eyes, which by all means should have been an impossible feat by feline standards.

"A fish in a pond does not know the great sea."

"Actually, I believe it's a frog that's in a well that doesn't know the great sea."

"Shut up." Yoruichi frowned. "What's a frog doing in a well anyway?"

"Probably running away from your greedy paws," Kisuke joked, ducking from a swipe from said paw. It turned into a punch halfway through, and Yoruichi settled back into her cat form without skipping a beat.

"I'll come up with a plan," Kisuke said, clutching his nose, his tone serious once more.

"I know. But you know, Kisuke, there's no hurry, at least not right now. We have the Hogyoku, and we've settled Shinji and the others. We need to figure out our own future before planning our next moves against Aizen."

"Mm. Our friends are doing well?"

"Exceedingly so. Mashiro no longer craves human souls, and Hiyori smacked Shinji for taking so long to wake up. Near knocked him right out again. Tesssai's going to go bring them food and reinforce the barriers."

"Ah, Tessai-san. Where would we be without him?"

"Starving and freezing our asses off," Yoruichi said lightly. Kisuke closed his eyes in agreement.

They sat in companionable silence as the sun edged across the sky and the shadows retreated under the tree. Tessai's footsteps crunched down the hill, taking with him the smell of rice and broth. Kisuke reached over to his friend, scratching her absent-mindedly behind the ears. Yoruichi purred.

"100 years," he said suddenly. Yoruichi looked over at him but didn't speak. Kisuke had a determined, far-off look in his eyes, all traces of longing and sadness gone for the first time since their world had fallen apart. Her tail twitched, and he resumed playing with her fur.

"100 years," she said quietly. It was a promise.

They would bring down Aizen in the next century.


	2. Chapter 2

He wonders if she regrets it at times, giving up her whole life to rescue him and their childhood friend. He wonders if she misses what she's given up, their home, their positions, her status, her family. She had been a princess and a captain, a leader and a mentor, and there were times when he didn't think he could ever forgive himself for putting her through all that she'd been through.

He's wondered several times whether he should apologize to her, but he knows her well enough to know that all he'd get would be a punch to the nose and a scathing comment to get over himself. She made her own decisions, with no one to influence her. It would be insulting to assume responsibility for her choices. So he settles for watching her silently at times when he suspects she thinks he's not looking, to see whether she'd show glimpses of sadness or depression. It was a futile gesture, he knew. Even if she was in pain, Yoruichi Shihoin was enough of a commander and a princess not to burden her friends when they themselves were in mourning.

Well, ex-commander and princess, that is. And although he knows it to be an empty gesture, he swears to himself that he will make it up to her.

Yoruichi trudges up the hill, a day's work of chasing after half-Hollows and bereaved ex-Shinigamis making itself felt in her limbs. She watches her friends, each in their respective unmoving positions. Tessai's gentle snores fill the sunset skies, but Kisuke is silent, statuesque. He stares unseeingly at the town laid beneath him. And in that moment, she doesn't think she can take it anymore.

She marches up to her friend, plopping down beside him and making him jump out of his reverie.

"Oi, Kisuke. Wipe that sad look off of your face this instant."

He blinks. "Yoruichi-san?"

"Or do you want me to use my Shunko to wipe it off for you? Your gigai's were crafted well enough that my powers are as they've always been. Or have you forgotten?"

Urahara Kisuke's eyes narrow, but she's staring at him out the corners of her eyes, her lips twitching mischeviously. He straightens up and grins back at her.

"My, my, Yoruichi-san. I think this might be the first time you've complimented one of my creations."

"Exactly. So don't go on feeling sorry for yourself, at least not on my part." She looks out into the distance that had captivated her friend for nearly the whole day. Her next words are spoken quietly, as if she were talking to herself. "I love you too much for that."

"I wasn't feeling sorry for myself," he muttered, but he realized with surprise that a weight had been lifted from the depths of his stomach. He hadn't asked for it, but she'd forgiven him anyway.

"Yoruichi-san?"

"What?"

"Thank you."

"... No. Thank you, Kisuke." Surprised, he lifted his head to look at her, but Yoruichi had already stood up, stretching her arms above her head and yawning.

"I'm going out for some food. Wake Tessai up before I get back." And in a flash of black fur and a light pattering of pawsteps, she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So I thought I'd mention, out of consideration for my erratic bouts of inspiration, I'm going to avoid keeping to a strict timeline. The chapters themselves should indicate to an extent when they take place within Bleach's story.

Copyright Kubo Tite. Bless the man.

Chapter 3

The next time Yoruichi returned to Karakura Town, she found two new inhabitants at Urahara's shop. She could sense their presence in the rooms adjacent to Tessai's, their small but strong reiatsu's flickering beside her old friend's subdued yet familiar signature. The moon's silvery rays spilled into the shop as Yoruichi bounded through the door, stretched, and reached for the clothes she knew would be waiting for her by the wall. She padded through the store's aisles into the empty corridor beyond. The lights were off in all but one of the rooms, and she headed towards the doors at the end of the hall.

"Welcome back, Yoruichi-san," Urahara Kisuke called, as his friend slipped into a seat at the table beside him and took to the meal in front of her. He looked up from the sheaf of papers and abacus on his lap. "I missed you."

"Mmm." She swallowed. "Missed you too."

"How was China?"

"Hot."

"Nothing out of the ordinary?"

"Nothing you haven't already planned for."

"They're going well then, our plans?"

"They're your plans, Kisuke. Of course they're going well."

The shopkeeper grinned, reaching over to refill her cup.

"Did I already tell you I missed you?"

"Shut up," Yoruichi said, but she was smiling.

It was a while before she finished eating. Kisuke flicked at his abacus, tapping the papers with his fan and humming at intervals. Outside, crickets chirped against the whistling of a light wind, and a distant car made its late night rounds. It was warm indoors, and at length, Yoruichi sat back, sighing contentedly.

"What'd you go and pick up two kids for, anyway?" she asked, looking over her friend. He looked peaceful and well-rested, despite his late-night activities. She felt a rush of affection, and a pang of guilt, that he'd stayed up waiting for her. He always did.

Kisuke flipped open his fan, tittering. "Well, you see, they came here looking for candies and they were both so cute, I just had to ask Tessai-san if we could keep them."

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty creepy of you, Kisuke."

The shopkeeper's head lowered, the shadows from his hat deepening over his eyes and the inane chatter in his voice turned serious. "We tracked Ururu-chan down by her reiatsu signature… and that of a large Hollow wreaking havoc on her apartment. Under normal circumstances, she would've made short work of the poor thing, but, ah, it appears the man who presumed to call himself her father had… rendered her incapable of protecting herself."

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed. "I assume his is no longer an issue?"

Kisuke's eyes caught her own, all warmth and humour drained from them. "Of course."

"And the boy?"

"We found Jinta-kun wandering some alleys, nursing minor injuries. These were animal made though. Apparently he'd had enough of abandonment from parental figures for a lifetime and decided he might as well leave on his own."

"Jinta… red-hair boy? Temperamental? Nursing, say, long red scratches from maybe a cat's claws?"

"Yoruichi-san!"

"What?" she shrugged. "It wasn't me. He was yelling at and chasing that half-blind old tomcat down by the shopping district. He was telling me about it, before trying to offer me his half-rotten meal." Yoruichi grinned. "I think he's sweet on me. Still, abandonment issues or not, it was a bit cruel of your boy to toy with the helpless. He got more than his fight's worth though."

Kisuke looked down, absent-mindedly flicking the beads on his abacus.

"It was pretty cruel, wasn't it?" he said quietly, and Yoruichi knew it wasn't a boy venting his personal problems on a stray her friend was thinking of. "I think if there's one thing I've learned since coming here, it's that the living tend to be."

Yoruichi stirred the remnants of her cup, draining the contents in one gulp.

"The dead aren't much better, Kisuke. Whether Hollow, Sinner or Soul, people are what they are, what they always have been. That doesn't change, no matter what world you're in."

"Why, Yoruichi-san, I never took you for a philosopher," Kisuke joked, his voice only slightly wavering.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "Shut up. Still, while you can't deny the crappiness, there's always the other end of things. There are always… people like you."

Her gaze was so full of warmth and quiet intensity that the shopkeeper didn't think he could look away even if he wanted to.

"It's your fault, you know," he said weakly, "for taking me and Tessai-san in in the first place." And being there with me all these years. And staying with me.

"My apologies. I was bored okay? And I was at the age where I was beginning to challenge my mother's authority, see how much I could get away with. In all honesty, I think that woman was a lot softer than anyone would dare to point out. I mean, she did let me keep you two."

"And didn't we make the greatest pets," Kisuke grinned, but he wished that he had said something to keep that moment between them going on forever. "Anyway, the kids'll make a great distraction for boredom. Minding a shop is tedious work, okay? It's never the same without you here."

"Well," Yoruichi hesitated, searching her friend's face for a trace, a hint… "I'll come back to see what you've done with the kids once in a while –"

"But you're not staying?"

Yoruichi shook her head.

"Still the situation in Beijing?"

A nod.

Kisuke looked down, smiling sadly. "I was hoping you'd be intrigued enough by Ururu-chan and Jinta-kun to want to stay longer."

"You and Tessai will be a lot better for the brats than I would ever be," Yoruichi said gently. "Anyway, I, um…"

"You've never been much for the domestic scene, eh, Yoruichi-san."

"No, no I haven't. Who needs a spoiled, ex-princess as a parent when they've got two dads?"

Kisuke looked up, silly grin spreading back over his face. "My, my, Yoruichi-san, does this mean you finally approve of my everlasting torrent love affair with our friend, the master of kido?"

"Don't make me jealous," Yoruichi said lightly, but her eyes were intent, searching, uncertain.

He'd tried keeping her with him, feeling a bit guilty for his manipulation, no matter how slight the attempt. He knew she would always choose the mission, especially one that allowed her to travel, to move those ever so restless legs of hers. But it was the larger choice that mattered in the end, wasn't it? She always came back to him.

So he reached for her hand, grasping it reassuringly. He'd be damned if he let himself hold this against her. "Tessai-san will be perfect for those kids. Me? I am so going to spoil them rotten."

"See? Prime parental material." And she clasped his hand back, tightly.


End file.
